
Don’t be impatient to respond to the customer as she or he completes a sentence. It takes time and is a laborious process. Do not get distracted by anxious thoughts coming to your mind. It helps signal your interest in the discussion.Ĭoncentrate on what the customer is speaking about. Even responding with a “yes” and “hmm” is useful.
#LISTEN TO UNDERSTAND HOW TO#
Very few understand why or how to prevent it.The most powerful mechanism to know this is to understand your customer. But in time, every executive reaches a point when their performance suffers and failure persists. The Leadership Gap: What Gets Between You and Your GreatnessĪfter decades of coaching powerful executives around the world, Lolly Daskal has observed that leaders rise to their positions relying on a specific set of values and traits. Lead from within: When you really listen well, you’ll be able to engage more deeply with your team, colleagues and customers, and that is the sign of great leadership. Great communication is more about hearing others than it is about being heard yourself. The most successful people I know are the ones who do more listening than talking. When you do, you’ll become aware of things you haven’t heard before. Listen for awkward pauses, omissions, hesitation. Sometimes the most important thing in communication is hearing what isn’t said. Focus entirely on understanding what’s being said. As the old saying goes, we have two ears and one tongue. If you want to be known as a great communicator, you have to learn how to listen without thinking about your reply. When you listen and you are able to form connections with what is being spoken, you’ll find you’re well prepared to help people put their thoughts in context and decide what to do next. The best listeners have developed their ability to hear and form connections-and then articulate the connecting points. You can always offer help later if it’s still needed. Instead of rushing to respond when someone else speaks, try to zero in on what they’re actually saying.

But when you jump in to be helpful, you’re actually robbing them of the chance to fully express themselves and solve the problem on their own. Most leaders have a genuine desire to be helpful, so it’s always tempting to chime in when someone’s speaking. But true leaders know that in order to empathize and connect with others, you have to first understand them, and that understanding comes from good listening.

Most people listen with the intent to reply in the front of their mind. Listening, learning and putting into practice what you’ve learned will always be the best way to build success. They don’t track conversations as a back-and-forth but as a path to new information. But the best leaders are listening to learn. In most exchanges, people simply react to the latest comment - a logical and often effective approach. You retain more, and people talk more-because the sincerest form of respect is actually listening to what another has to say.
#LISTEN TO UNDERSTAND FULL#
Most people like to speak, but it’s far more rewarding to listen with your full attention. The best leaders are skilled at listening-here’s how they do it: Most of us don’t think of listening as a communication skill, but it’s one of the most important. That means they have to know how to speak and write clearly-and it also means they also have to know how to listen. Great leaders must be effective communicators.
